Process and assembly for non-destructive surface inspections

ABSTRACT

A light beam is directed towards a surface along a direction normal to the surface. The surface is caused to move so that the beam scans the surface along a spiral path. An ellipsoidal mirror is placed with its axis along the surface normal to collect light scattered by the surface and any anomalies at the surface at collection angles away from the surface normal. In some applications, a lens arrangement with its axis along the surface normal is also used to collect the light scattered by the surface and any anomalies. The light scattered by the mirror and lenses may be directed to the same or different detectors. Preferably light scattered by the surface within a first range of collection angles from the axis is detected by a first detector and light scattered by the surface within a second range of collection angles from the axis is detected by a second detector. The two ranges of collection angles are different, with one detector optimized to detect scattering from large particles and defects and the other detector optimized to detect light from small particles and defects.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/216,834, entitled “Process andAssembly for Non-Destructive Surface Inspections,” filed Mar. 24, 1994and of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/533,632, entitled “System forSurface Inspection,” filed Sep. 25, 1995.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention described in the present disclosure relates to aprocess and an assembly for the non-destructive inspection of surfaces,particularly for the measurement of small particles, defects, andinhomogeneities on and/or just below the surface of a test object, suchparticles, defects, and inhomogeneities collectively referred to hereinas anomalies. It relates in particular to an instrument described belowas the preferred embodiment for inspecting a silicon wafer, theinstrument having a light source that generates a light beam, a beamdeflector, an optical system that projects the incident beam on a lightspot perpendicular to the test object, a photodetector to which thecollected light is guided, and an assembly by which the test object ismoved by a coordinated translational and rotary movement, so that thelight spot scans the whole of the surface along a spiral path.

[0003] Such types of process and/or assembly can be used, for example inmicroelectronics, for the non-destructive checking and inspection of thesurfaces of wafers, magnetic storage media, and/or substrates foroptical applications, to determine the presence of any particles and/ordefects.

[0004] The development of wafer-exposure processes has made it possibleto manufacture wafer surfaces with ever finer structures parallel tothis development, inspection systems that permit the detection of evermore minute defects and particles have become increasingly important.Apart from particles that account for about 75% of all waste in themanufacture of integrated circuits (ICS), inspection systems must becapable of detecting many other types of inhomogeneity, such asvariations in the thickness of coatings, crystal defects on and belowthe surface, etc.

[0005] In the final inspection by wafer manufacturers and theinward-goods inspection by chip manufacturers, the unstructured,uncoated wafer must therefore be subjected to extremely searchingexamination for particle contamination, light-point crystal defects,roughness, polishing scratches, etc. If the test object has a roughsurface, then a large amount of stray surface scattering will result.Thus, for this purpose, the test object has a well-polished surface thatproduces very little diffused light.

[0006] In chip manufacture it is usual to monitor each stage of theprocess, in order to recognize problems as early as possible and thusavoid undue waste. One method of process monitoring is to use so-calledmonitor wafers which remain unstructured but pass through some of theprocess stages. Comparison of two measurements, the first before theprocess stage and the other after it, can thus, for example, helpdetermine the amount of particle contamination due to that process stageor indicate variations in the evenness of the process stage, for examplethe distribution of the coating thickness over the whole of the wafer.The surfaces subjected to inspection may be rough and metallized, andtherefore, produce a great deal of diffused light, or they may befilm-coated surfaces that cause interference-fringe effects. Thus,ideally the inspecting instrument has a wide dynamic range to permitdefect and particle detection of a wide variety of surfaces.

PRIOR ART

[0007] For the type of inspection described above, so-called laserscanners are particularly suitable. An important feature of these istheir high sensitivity to very small defects and the ability todetermine the presence of these, and their high throughput. The maindifferences in the laser scanners now available are the type of scanningthey use, their optical configuration, and the manner in which theresults are processed.

[0008] For applications that require a high throughput and 100%inspection of the whole wafer surface, two processes are mainly used. Inthe first of these, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,763,the illuminating beam and the collecting optics are stationary, and thetest object is scanned spirally by means of a coordinated translationaland rotary movement of the test object itself. In the second process,for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,159, a rotating orvibrating mirror moves the illuminating beam in one direction linearlyback and forth across the wafer, and the whole of the wafer is scannedby virtue of a simultaneous translational movement of the test objectperpendicular thereto.

[0009] Spiral scanning has the following advantages:

[0010] the optical system has no moving parts and thus is simpler;

[0011] the illuminated spot and the collector system's field remainconstant during the whole of the measurement procedure, hence thesystem's sensitivity is homogeneous over the whole of the test object;

[0012] the system takes up less room, because the test object has to bemoved only by the length of its radius; and

[0013] there is no need to alter the optical system for inspection ofbigger objects, only the travel of the translational stage.

[0014] The advantages of moving the illuminating beam by means of amirror or a set of mirrors are:

[0015] the test object has to be moved in one direction only, and thisis simpler; and

[0016] as a rule, scanning is faster.

[0017] In the second scanning method, because the illuminating spotmoves across the test object and thus the source of diffused light movesin relation to the optical collector system, it cannot ensure an evenmeasuring sensitivity, nor does it permit a rotationally symmetricalarrangement of the collector optics. These are serious drawbacks inlaser scanners configured in this manner.

[0018] Various optical configurations are known from prior art in theuse of a laser scanner for spiral scanning as described above.

[0019] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,932 describes a system which hastwo differently polarized lasers and two corresponding detectors. Thediffused-light intensity of spheres as a function of their diameter hasoscillations for diameters within the range of the wavelength used andincreases strictly monotonically for smaller diameters. The use ofdifferently polarized light reduces the error in the attribution ofdiffused-light intensity to particle diameter for the spheres ofpolystyrene latex (PSL) spheres used for the calibration of laserscanners.

[0020] But in practice, the attribution of certain diffused-lightintensities to particle diameters depends on so many factors, such assubstrate material, films and coatings available, particle material,surface texture of particles, etc., that when the optics and calibrationof the equipment are designed only for polystyrene-latex spheres, theytend to make interpretation of the results more difficult. A furthermajor drawback of this method is that the oblique angle of incidence andlinear polarization of the laser beam break the symmetry. The measuredsignal thus depends on the orientation of the defect.

[0021] Japanese Patent Application No. 63′14,830 describes collectoroptics made up of concentric rings, each having six fibre-optic lightguides, which are directed to a photomultiplier. The drawbacks of thisarrangement are that it fails to cover the central zone near the axis,and the discrete arrangement can achieve rotational symmetry onlyapproximately.

[0022] EP-A-0,290,228 describes an arrangement whereby the diffusedlight is conducted to two detectors. The first detector collects lightdeflected by about 40 mrad to 100 mrad, the second collects lightdiffused by more than 100 mrad. Such an angle-resolving method ofmeasurement by means of two detectors makes it possible to classify thedefects, but because the collector angle is limited, the system cannotmeasure very small defects.

[0023] DE-A4,134,747 describes a similar solution that uses twodetectors designed as arrays, one of which measures the radial and theother the azimuthal light distribution. In this system the test objectrotates and the optical system moves linearly.

[0024] DD 250,850 also describes an angle-resolving method of measuringdiffused light by means of fiber-optic light guides arranged in acircle.

[0025] Both the above methods have the drawback that the collector angleis much smaller and closer to specular than that described in thepresent disclosure.

[0026] In this connection, U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,763 describes a design inwhich perpendicular incident light and rotational symmetry of thecollector optics about the perpendicular of the test object permitmeasurements regardless of the defect's orientation. But the lens systemused only has a small collector angle and this limits the capability ofthe design in detection of very small particles at a high throughputrate.

[0027] The same inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,997 improves themeasurement of textured or structured surfaces by the addition of aspecial mask to the design described above. The purpose of the mask isto suppress the rays deflected by these structures.

[0028] A significant drawback of prior art systems is the inability todetect very small surface or near surface defects and particles. Withthe continual reduction in size of semiconductor structures on wafersurfaces, it is critically important to be able to detect such smallanomalies. As shown in table 34 of The National Technology Roadmap forSemiconductors by The Semiconductor Industry Association, 1994, therequirements for defect and particle detection sensitivity will be 0.08micron in 1998, 0.05 or 0.06 micron in 2001 and down to 0.02 micron in2010. None of the above referenced systems is capable of achievingsensitivities that are close to such requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0029] As noted above, it is difficult for prior art systems to detectsmall anomalies such as small particles and defects. Small particles ordefects scatter light at large angles to the normal direction of thesurface when the surface is illuminated in the normal direction. Innormal illumination prior art systems where the light scattered by thesurface is collected by a lens system where the axis of the lens systemis along the normal direction, the lens system will collect only a smallportion of the light scattered by such small anomalies. If largeanomalies such as particles or surface defects are also present inaddition to the small anomalies, the scattering from such largeanomalies will be at much higher intensities compared to and will maskthose caused by the small anomalies so that the small anomalies becomedifficult or impossible to detect. One aspect of the invention is basedon the recognition that, since the scattering from the large anomaliesis at much higher intensities at specular or near specular collectionangles (that is, small angles to the normal) than at large collectionangles whereas the scattering from small anomalies have intensitieswhich are more evenly distributed in all directions to the normal, withmost of the energy contained in the larger angles. The detection of thesmall anomalies can therefore be much enhanced by using an ellipsoidalmirrored surface to collect light scattered at relatively largecollection angles to the normal and avoiding light scattered at specularor near specular directions.

[0030] Thus, one aspect of the invention is directed towards an opticalsystem for detecting contaminates and defects on a test surfacecomprising a source of light to produce a beam, means for directing thebeam along a path onto the test surface, producing an illuminated spotthereon. The system further includes an ellipsoidal mirrored surfacehaving an axis of symmetry substantially coaxial with the path, definingan input aperture positioned proximate to the test surface to receivescattered light therethrough from the surface. The mirrored surfacereflects and focuses light that is rotationally symmetric about saidaxis of symmetry and that passes through the input aperture at an area.The system further includes means for detecting light focused to thearea.

[0031] When it is known that the surface scattering or haze level islow, and that there are few large defects or point-anomalies, detectionsensitivity for small anomalies can be further enhanced by adding to theellipsoidal mirrored surface of the above apparatus a lens assembly thatcollects light scattered in a small angle region near the speculardirection and focuses the collected light to the same area as theellipsoidal mirrored surface.

[0032] Another aspect of the invention is based on the observation thatlarger particles scatter light at smaller angles to the normal directionof the surface (i.e. direction of the specularly reflected beam)compared to smaller particles, and the light scattered by the smallerparticles is lower in intensity compared to the light scattered bylarger particles or defects. Where light scattered in a range of anglescovering the collection angles for both large and small particles iscollected and directed to a single detector means, and if the detectormeans is optimized for detecting the low intensity light scattered bysmaller particles, the detector means may become saturated by the highintensity light scattered by larger particles. On the other hand, if thedetector means is optimized for detecting the high intensity lightscattered by larger particles, it is not optimized to detect lowintensity light scattered by the smaller particles.

[0033] Furthermore, the surface texture itself produces a certain amountof diffracted light in addition to the light scattered by particles.This surface light scatter, commonly referred to as haze, tends to beconcentrated at smaller angles near the specularly reflected light beam.If a single detector arrangement is used to detect scattered light fromboth large and small particles or defects, the effect of haze is tosignificantly degrade the signal-to-noise ratio for the detection of thesmaller defects and particles.

[0034] This aspect of the invention is based on the observation that, bycollecting scattered light in directions close to and at smaller anglesto the specular reflection direction separately from light scattered atlarger angles to the specular reflection direction and directing thelight scattered at smaller angles to a different detector than the lightscattered at larger angles, it is now possible to optimize the two ormore detectors separately. Thus, two or more detectors are used: atleast a first detector for detecting the low intensity light scatteredby smaller particles at larger angles to the specular reflectiondirection, and at least a second detector for detecting the highintensity light scattered by larger particles at smaller angles to thespecular reflection direction. The first detector will not be seriouslyaffected by scattering due to haze, since such scattering decreasesrapidly at larger angles from the specular reflection direction.

[0035] The above concept is applicable even where the light beam forilluminating the surface to be inspected is at an oblique angle to thesurface instead of being perpendicular to the surface and is alsoapplicable for the differentiation, characterization and/orclassification of different types of surface or near surface anomalies(referred to below simply as anomalies of surfaces or surfaceanomalies), including but not limited to anomalies such as scratches,slip lines, crystal originated particles (COPs) as well as contaminationparticles.

[0036] As indicated above, the requirements for detection sensitivityare becoming more and more stringent. For such purpose, it is desirableto focus the illuminating beam onto a small spot on the inspectedsurface, such as one no larger than 50 microns in dimensions in anydirection on the surface. This will enhance signal-to-noise ratio.

[0037] Thus, another aspect of the invention is directed towards anapparatus for detecting anomalies of surfaces, comprising means forfocusing a light beam along a path towards a spot on a surface, causinga specular reflection, said spot having dimensions less than 50 microns;means for causing rotational and translational movement of the surface,so that the beam scans the surface along a spiral path. The apparatusfurther comprises a first detector located to detect light scattered bythe surface within a first range of collection angles and a seconddetector located to detect light scattered by the surface within asecond range of collection angles, said second range being differentfrom the first range; and an ellipsoidal mirrored surface defining aninput aperture positioned approximate to the surface to receivescattered light therethrough from the surface, the mirrored surfacereflecting and focusing light passing through the input aperture at thefirst detector; and a lens assembly collecting light passing through theinput aperture, defining collected light, said lens assembly focusingthe collected light to the second detector.

[0038] Yet another aspect of the invention is based on the observationthat if the lens used for collecting light to a detector is also used tofocus the illuminating beam towards the surface inspected, strayreflections and scatter of the illuminating beam at the collection lenscan cause such background light to be detected by the detector. Thisintroduces errors and is undesirable. Thus, another aspect of theinvention is directed towards an apparatus for detecting anomalies ofsurfaces, comprising means for directing a light beam towards a surfacein a direction substantially normal to the surface, said directiondefining an axis; means for causing relative motion between the surfaceand the beam, so that the beam scans the surface; and means fordetecting light scattered by said surface. The detecting means includesat least one lens for collecting light to be detected, wherein thedirecting means directs light towards the surface along an illuminationpath that does not pass through said at least one lens. The detectingbeam preferably includes at least two detectors: a first detectorlocated to detect light scattered by the surface within the first rangeof collection angles from the axis and a second detector located todetect light scattered by the surface within a second range ofcollection angles from the axis, said second range being different fromthe first range.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wafer-inspection assembly, withtwo wafer cassettes and an automatic wafer-transport and wafer-measuringdevice.

[0040]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of the present state ofthe art.

[0041]FIG. 3 is a further diagrammatic representation of prior art, butfitted with an assembly as described in the present disclosure.

[0042]FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment of an assembly as described in thepresent disclosure.

[0043]FIG. 5A is a graphical illustration of the scattered lightintensity from PSL spheres of different diameters at different angles ofcollection from the normal direction of the surface.

[0044]FIG. 5B is a graphical illustration of the surface scatteringbackground intensities of silicon at different angles of collection fromthe normal direction of the surface.

[0045]FIG. 5C is a graphical illustration of the signal-to-noise ratioof PSL spheres on silicon at different angels of collection from thenormal direction.

[0046]FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the assembly as described inthe present disclosure.

[0047]FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a surface inspection system toillustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0048]FIG. 8 is a graphical plot of the scattered light intensity from asilicon surface, and from a large and a small PSL sphere placed on thesurface to illustrate the invention.

[0049]FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a surface inspection system toillustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention.

[0050] For simplicity in description, identical components areidentified by the same numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] The purpose of the present invention is, therefore, to propose amethod and an assembly that avoids the drawbacks of prior art asdescribed above and whose measuring sensitivity for particles anddefects on test objects subjected to inspection is substantiallygreater, but without limiting haze sensitivity. At the same time, itshould provide simple means to permit the adjustment of the sensitivityof the assembly, the size of the illuminated spot on the test object,and thus of the amount of diffused light generated by point defects. Inaddition, it should make available as large an unmodified portion of thediffused light as possible, to provide a flexible means of selectivelyseparating and further processing the relevant parts of the diffusedlight, to suit the particular inspection task at hand.

[0052] The present disclosure achieves these aims by the characteristicfeatures described below which provide the main advantages of theinvention, namely:

[0053] the spatially stationary arrangement of projection and collectoroptics ensures that when the test object is moved parallel to itssurface the measuring sensitivity remains constant over the wholesurface of the object;

[0054] because the incident beam and collector optics are rotationallysymmetrical about the perpendicular to the test object's surface, theorientation of a defect such as polishing scratch does not affectmeasuring sensitivity;

[0055] use of a rotationally symmetrical ellipsoidal mirror creates avery large area for the collection of diffused light, and this is veryimportant for the detection of particles in the 100 nm range and below,that diffuse fairly evenly throughout the hemisphere;

[0056] an appropriate lens system that allows light collection in thecentral zones near the axis is particularly important for the detectionof particles in the 1 μm and above range, because of the extensiveamount of scattering of such particles at smaller angles to the normaldirection of the surface; and

[0057] projection on a collection diaphragm of the image of the lightdiffused by the illuminated spot provides great design for a largevariety of aperture configurations and makes possible positionallyresolved, angle resolved, polarizing, and other measurements, withoutthereby affecting the illuminating beam or requiring any adjustments tothe central part of the assembly, comprising of an ellipsoidal mirror, alens system, a beam deflector, and a dark field stop. This is cruciallyimportant in view of the fact that the specified quality of thesecomponents is very high and precise dimensioning is extremely delicate.For example, the haze level for top-quality wafers is about 50 ppb(parts per billion), hence only about 0.000,000,05 of the total amountof light introduced is directed to the photosensor. Because hazeinterferes with the measurement of the smallest particles, it isessential to keep it to a minimum. To prevent measurements beingaffected (impaired), this also means that parasitic and ambient lightfrom optical components must be much less than 50 ppb.

[0058] The assembly can be further improved by the use of different lenscombinations in the projection optics to project the image of theilluminated spot to suit the test object, thus providing greaterflexibility as to the size and shape of the illuminated spot. This alsomakes it possible to adjust the measuring sensitivity to different typesand shapes of particles and surface defects that depend on theilluminating spot profile.

[0059] In a useful further development of the invention described in thepresent disclosure by a different configuration of the collectiondiaphragm or of the light guides above the collection diaphragm:

[0060] the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved for particlemeasurement by the selective adjustment of the optimum collection angle;

[0061] defects with certain diffusion properties can be either selectedor suppressed;

[0062] angle-resolved diffused-light measurement for the knownlight-reflection behavior of different types of defects can be used fordefect classification; and

[0063] certain spatial frequencies of the surface can be separated.

[0064] In yet another configuration, variable attenuators are fittedabove the collection diaphragm to permit the photodetector to operate inits optimum working range. In other words, where the reflection orscattering from the surface is at high intensity, such as where thesurface is metallized, the attenuator will reduce the intensity to avalue within the detector optimum working range. Where the reflection orscattering from the surface is not at high intensity, attenuationapplied by the attenuator may be reduced or disabled so that theintensity detected is at a value within the detector optimum workingrange. This increases the dynamic range of the detector for detecting awide range of intensities from a wide variety of surfaces. These are asimple means for reducing the amount of light, but do not affect theprojection or collector beam.

[0065]FIG. 1 shows a substrate-surface inspection system as used mainlyfor the inspection of wafers. Such systems are used to display thepresence of extremely small particles (i.e. about 100 nm in size),crystal defects, metallic impurities, polishing defects, scratches, andof implant and other inhomogeneities on wafers.

[0066] One condition for the measurement of very small particles in the80 nm range is that it must be performed in a very clean environment,such as a class 1 clean room.

[0067] A state-of-the-art means of ensuring the requisite cleanlinessfor such measurements is, for example, the use of a flow box and anaerodynamically transparent design.

[0068]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a state-of-the-artsurface inspection system based on the principle of measuring elasticdiffusion. A light source 1, usually a laser beam, illuminates adot-shaped point 2 on the surface of a wafer 3. The specular reflectedlight leaves the system in the direction of arrow BF. A first lens 5collects part 4 of the light diffused by the surface and projects itsimage to a photodetector 7. An output signal 8 from the photodetector 7is conducted to an amplifier 9. The wafer surface 3 subjected toinspection lies in the so-called focal plane 10. If there is a defect atthe illuminated position 2, the amount of diffused light 4 increases, asdoes the intensity of the light reaching the photodetector 7, and hencethe output voltage (U_(a)) 11 from the amplifier 9 also rises.

[0069]FIG. 3 shows an assembly of parts of a surface-inspection system.The light emitted by a laser 20 passes through an optical filter 21, forexample an attenuator or neutral density filter, to a beam deflector 22,such as a mirror or prism, and thence to a lens 23 which focuses thelight to an illuminated spot 24 lying in the focal plane 10. During theinspection procedure the wafer surface 3 subject to inspection lies inthe focal plane 10. That portion of the diffused light 4 which isdiffused by the wafer surface 3 passes through the collector lens 23 andthe collection diaphragm 6 to the photodetector 7. In this confocalsystem the aperture 25 in the collection diaphragm 6 lies in the image26 of the illuminated spot 24 and its shape is more or less the same asthat of the spot 24. In the calibration phase, a reference medium 27 isplaced in position, preferably below the focusing plane 10.

[0070] Because the reference medium 27 thus lies beyond the focusingplane 10, the area of a second illuminated spot 28 is greater than thefirst such spot 24 in the focusing plane 10. Likewise, in thecalibration phase, the area 29 thus illuminated in the position of thecollection diaphragm 6 is greater than the image 26.

[0071] Because the aperture 25 of the collection diaphragm 6 is still inthe same size, only a very small proportion of the diffused light fromthe reference medium 27 now passes through the aperture 25 of thecollection diaphragm 6 to the photodetector 7.

[0072] An attenuation mechanism for the calibration is formed by meansof the optical filter 21 and/or by displacement of the reference medium27 out of the focusing plane 10.

[0073] When the position of the reference medium 27 is moved along theoptical axis 32, this alters the size of the illuminated area 29 in theposition of the collection diaphragm 6.

[0074] Thus, if the size of the aperture 25 in the collection diaphragm6 is kept constant, this makes it possible to regulate the amount ofenergy that reaches the photodetector 7.

[0075] The typical embodiment shown has an adjustment mechanism 37 whichconsists of a support 34 adjustable in height by means of an adjustmentscrew 33, on which the reference medium 27, having surface 30 and volume31, is placed. The support for the reference medium has a raised rim 38.

[0076] In this typical embodiment the height setting can be fixed bymeans of a clamping screw 35.

[0077] Further, it is of course perfectly feasible to integrate at leastone refracting element 36, for example a lens, between the light source20 and the beam deflector 22.

[0078] The lenses, laser light sources, diaphragms, etc., described inFIGS. 3, 4, and 6 can of course be assembled as complete systems, and inpractice this is the case. Thus, for example, the light emitted by thelight source 20 may be coherent or incoherent, monochromatic orpolychromatic, unpolarized or polarized, and elliptical, linear, orcircular, and may emanate from one or two lasers of differentwavelengths, a mercury-vapor lamp etc. The lens may be a singlespherical or cylindrical lens, or a complete lens system. Further, tofacilitate adjustments to the optical system, additional mirrors may beplaced between the light source 20 and the deflection mirror 22.

[0079] For the sake of clarity, the drawings omit these details whichmay, for example, be necessary for adjustment and/or calibration.

[0080] For the purposes of the present disclosure it is also assumedthat the process and assembly described in the present disclosure areapplied to the prior art, in particular to U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,763(Steigmeier et al.), wherein the transport system for spiral scanningused to scan the wafer subjected to inspection makes a compositemovement consisting of translating and rotation, though the principle assuch must be regarded as known.

[0081] Moreover, the present disclosure includes a gauge, describedbelow, which is essential to ensure that the light supplied by the lightsource is perpendicular to the test object's surface and that the lightsource and the supply of light remain stationary while the test objectmoves spirally under the light beam during the scanning process,maintaining rotational symmetry.

[0082]FIG. 4 shows a first such typical embodiment of a system asdescribed for the invention in the present disclosure. For clarity, thisadopts the same reference numbers as those used in FIG. 3 for allfeatures that occur in both figures.

[0083] As shown, the light emitted by the source 20 passes through aprojection lens 36′, via the beam deflector 22, to the illuminated spot24 on the test object (wafer) 3. In this case, the size and shape of theilluminated spot 24 are determined and adjusted solely by the imageproduced by the projection lens 36′ system. The light L₀ directlyreflected by the wafer 3 passes along the same path back to the lightsource, and a dark-field stop 41 helps ensure that the directlyreflected near specular light L₀ does not reach the photodetector 7.

[0084] Any surface inhomogeneities that may be present on the wafer 3subjected to inspection diffuse the incident light throughout thehemisphere above the illuminated spot 24. An ellipsoidal mirror ormirrored surface 42 is provided to ensure that the maximum amount of thediffused light is transmitted to the photodetector 7; the mirror 42 isfitted rotationally symmetrically about the optical axis above theilluminated spot 24 and below the beam deflector 22.

[0085] The internally silvered or aluminized ellipsoidal mirror 42 isshaped as a partial rotation ellipsoid. The beams of diffused light L₁and L₂ and all the rotationally symmetrical beams thus collected by theellipsoidal mirror 42 form the image of the illuminated spot 24 on theaperture 25 of the collection diaphragm 6.

[0086] In this, the collection diaphragm 6 has the task, on the onehand, of preventing unwanted diffused light that may, for example, beproduced in the optical components, from reaching the photodetector 7,and, on the other, of allowing the beams of diffused light L₁ and L₂from the illuminated spot 24 to pass.

[0087] The advantages of the optical inspection system of FIG. 4 willnow be described in reference to the scattering characteristics of smallanomalies illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C. FIG. 5A is a graphicalillustration of the scattering light intensities from PSL spheres ofdifferent diameters collected at different angles of collection from thenormal direction to the surface. As shown in FIG. 5A, for the same sizePSL sphere, the intensity of scattered light at a smaller collectionangle to the normal is smaller than that at a larger angle ofcollection. Sensitivity of detection is the ability to differentiate asignal originating from an anomaly from that originating frombackground. Therefore, in addition to accounting for the strength of thelight signal from the anomaly, the strength of the background signalwill also have to be taken into account; this is illustrated in FIG. 5B.As shown in FIG. 5B, it is clear that the scattering backgroundintensity of silicon is much stronger at near specular collection anglesin the range of 2 to 5° as compared to that at large collection anglesto the normal such as 65 to 85° or 25 to 65°. FIG. 5C is a graphicalplot of the signal-to-noise ratio as a function of sphere diameter forthe four different ranges of collection angles. From FIG. 5C, it isclear that the signal-to-noise ratio at large collection angles is muchbetter for small particles compared to that at near specular or smallcollection angles.

[0088] The optical system of FIG. 4 includes an ellipsoidal mirror 42shaped to collect light at large collection angles to the normaldirection and avoids collecting light at near specular or smallcollection angle directions. Thus, from FIG. 5A it is evident that atthe same collection angle, the scattering intensity from a largeparticle is generally higher than that from a smaller particle. It isalso further observed that at certain particle size, there will beessentially near zero intensity of scattered light in the range of nearspecular directions whereas there may still be detectable scatteringintensity at larger collection angles. For example, if the scatteringintensity from 0 to 5° is avoided altogether, particles smaller than 100nanometers are still detectable at collection angles of 3 to 25°, 25 to65° and 65 to 85°. But if the same detector used to detect smallerparticles also detects light in the near specular region, detection oflight scattered by such small particles will be made difficult by lightfrom the larger particles, and by the surface background as well. At asphere size of about 100 nanometers, it appears that such smallerspheres are detectable only within the ranges of 3 to 25° and 25 to 65°so that if light is collected only within such ranges, detection oflight from such tiny particles will not be made difficult by light fromthe larger particles and are detectable. However, very large surfacescattering (haze) levels will mask the detection of small particleswithin the collection angles 3 to 25°. The system of FIG. 4 is thereforeadvantageous for detection of small particles and defects since itcollects only light within one or more ranges of the larger collectionangles such as 25 to 65°, 65 to 85° and not 2 to 5° or even 3 to 25°from the normal.

[0089]FIG. 6 shows the function of two lenses 39 and 40 in connectionwith the ellipsoidal mirror 42 and the separate rays L₃, L₄, L₅, and L₆that indicate beams of diffused light. The configuration in FIG. 6 maybe useful where the number of larger particles or defects on thesemiconductor wafer surface is insignificant compared to the smallparticles or defects and also for very low background surfaces. In suchcircumstances, it may be advantageous to also collect light in the rangeof small collection angles 3 to 25° from the normal direction of thesurface by means of one or more lenses. However, to include collectionin the near specular region (2 to 5°) is undesirable.

[0090] The important new features in FIG. 6 are two lenses 39, 40 in theoptical path between the beam deflector 22 and the illuminated spot 24,i.e. a first lens 39 and a second lens 40 placed on the optical axis,for the purpose of collecting as much light as possible and focus thelight to the same area as the mirror 42. This is exactly the samepurpose as that pursued and achieved by the use of an ellipsoidal mirror42 which is part of a rotation ellipsoid and whose axis of symmetry isparallel to the optical axis, and where the two focal points of theellipsoid lie, on the one hand, in the illuminated spot 24 and, on theother, in the image 26.

[0091] The use of the two lenses 39 and 40 in conjunction with theellipsoidal mirror 42 increases the collection area.

[0092] Two lenses are necessary to prevent the rays from the ellipsoidalmirror striking the focusing unit located on the optical axis and tomaximize the area between the beam deflector 22 and the illuminated spot24. In other words, the use of two lenses enables more light to becollected while retaining the function of focusing the incomingilluminating beam onto spot 24 and the outgoing scattered light ontoimage 26. The position and focal length of these lenses must be sochosen as to ensure that the focusing unit on the optical axis alsoforms an image of the light spot on the collection diaphragm 6 in frontof the photodetector 7. As described above in connection with FIG. 4,unless it has already been integrated in the beam deflector, thedark-field stop 41 prevents directly reflected near specular laser lightand any light diffused by optical components from reaching thephotodetector 7.

[0093] With the introduction of locally resolved measurements, forexample by the use of detector arrays instead of a simple photodetector7, the signal-to-noise ratio can be further improved, because the effectof haze is equally powerful on all the detectors but the light-pointdefect (LPD) produces a greater response in some detectors than inothers.

[0094] To ensure that the photodetector operates in its optimum workingrange when the substrate subject to inspection produces substantialdiffusion, it may be necessary to use attenuators 79 between diaphragm 6and photodetector 7 to increase the dynamic range of the photodetector.

[0095] As already described, the use of combined spherical andcylindrical lenses 36′, instead of a simple cylindrical lens 36 in astate-of-the-art assembly, can be useful to adjust the size and shape ofthe light beam projected to the illuminated spot 24.

[0096] Because the brightness of the reflected light that appears in theimage 26 is increased by the means described above, angle-resolvedmeasurement also becomes possible, for example by the use of lightguides fitted between the collection diaphragm 6 and the photosensor 7,in order to eliminate certain angels of diffusion.

[0097] Also to eliminate rays at certain angles of diffusion, theconfiguration can be further altered by the provision of a seconddiaphragm 6′ (not shown) above or below the collection diaphragm 6.

[0098] As noted above, it may be desirable to collect and direct at adetector, light at large collection angles without mixing such collectedlight with light within small collection angles or near specularreflection for the purpose for detecting tiny particles or defects.Where detection of larger particles and defects is also desired, it maybe advantageous to use a second detector to detect light within smallcollection angles (e.g. 3 to 25 degrees) to the normal in the mannershown in FIG. 7.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 7, the surface inspection system 1010 may beused for inspecting anomalies on a surface 1012. Surface 1012 isilluminated by a substantially stationary illumination device portion ofsystem 1010 comprising a laser beam from a laser source (not shown). Thelaser beam 1014 is passed through polarizing optics 1016 of the deviceportion to cause the laser beam to have the desired polarization statewhen used to illuminate surface 1012. Laser beam 1014 is then passedthrough a beam expander and aperture 1018 and beam-forming optics 1020to expand and focus the beam 1014′. The beam 1014′ is then reflected bya beam folding component 1022 and a beam deflector 1024 to direct thebeam 1014″ towards surface 1012 for illuminating the surface. In thepreferred embodiment, beam 1014″ is substantially normal orperpendicular to surface 1012, it being understood that this is notrequired and many of the advantages of the invention described hereinare equally applicable where beam 1014″ is at an oblique angle tosurface 1012.

[0100] In the preferred embodiment, beam 1014″ is substantiallyperpendicular or normal to surface 1012 and beam deflector 1024 reflectsthe specular reflection of the beam from surface 1012 towards component1022, thereby acting as a shield to prevent the specular reflection fromreaching the detectors. The direction of the specular reflection isalong line SR normal to surface 1012. In the preferred embodiment wherebeam 1014″ is normal to surface 1012, this line SR coincides with thedirection of illuminating beam 1014″, where this common reference lineor direction is referred to herein as the axis of system 1010. Wherebeam 1014″ is at an oblique angle to surface 1012, the direction ofspecular reflection SR would not coincide with the incoming direction ofbeam 1014″; in such instance, the line SR indicating the direction ofthe surface normal is referred to as the principal axis of thecollection portion of system 1010.

[0101] Light scattered by small particles are collected by mirror 1038and directed towards aperture 1040 and detector 1044. Light scattered bylarge particles are collected by lenses 1032 and directed towardsaperture 1036 and detector 1042. Large particles will also, of course,scatter light that is collected and directed to detector 1044, and smallparticles will also scatter light that is collected and directed todetector 1042 but such light is of relatively low intensity compared tothe intensity of scattered light the respective detector is designed todetect.

[0102] To illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention, FIG. 8shows graphical plots of the scattered light intensity (1050) from asilicon surface, that (1054) from a small PSL sphere of the order of 100nanometers (nm) diameter placed on the surface and that (1052) from alarge PSL sphere of the order of 1 micron diameter placed on thesurface. In reference to FIG. 7, the polar angle of FIG. 8 indicates thecollection angle of the scattered light away from the axis SR of system1010. Thus, the intensity at a polar angle of zero degrees wouldindicate the intensity of light reflected or scattered by surface 1012or the PSL sphere along the axis SR of system 1010 as shown in FIG. 7.As shown by curve 1050, in FIG. 8, the light scattered by the siliconsurface falls off rapidly away from the polar angle zero, where specularreflection occurs. The light scattered by the silicon surface away fromthe specular reflection direction is frequently due to haze; as shown inFIG. 8, light scattering due to haze falls off rapidly with increasingcollection angles to the axis of the system. Specular reflection as wellas scattered light at collection angles up to about 5° are deflected bydeflector 1024 and does not reach any one of the two detectors 1042 or1044. Light scattered at collection angles within the range of 5-20°from the axis SR of system 1010 are collected by lenses 1032 anddeflected by beam deflector 1034 towards an aperture 1036, so that theportion of the beam that passes aperture 1036 is detected by detector1042. Light scattered at collection angles in the range of about 25 toabout 70 degrees are collected by mirror 1038 and focused towards anaperture 1040 so that the light that passes through the aperture isdetected by detector 1044.

[0103] The angular distribution of light scattered by the small size PSLsphere is shown as the solid line curve 1054 in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG.8, small particles preferentially scatter at higher angles than asilicon surface. It is also known that small particles scatter at higherangles than larger particles. Whereas the intensity of scattering peaksat around 30-40° for a 100 nanometer PSL sphere, the scattered lightintensity typically peaks at much lower scattering angles for large sizespheres (about 1 micron diameter and greater). See curve 1052 in FIG. 8.The device portion of system 1010 for collecting and detecting scatteredlight from anomalies such as large particles is comprised of lenses1032, a folding mirror 1034, aperture 1036, and detector 1042. Mirror1038, aperture 1040, and detector 1044 are adapted to detect scatteredlight from smaller particles, and form the device portion of system 1010for collecting and detecting scattered light from anomalies such assmall particles and defects. Since larger particles typically scatterlight at higher intensities compared to smaller particles, the detectors1042, 1044 can be optimized separately, with detector 1042 optimized fordetecting large particles and detector 1044 optimized to detect smallerparticles. By using two different detectors for detecting scatteredlight within two different ranges of collection angles, each detectorcan be optimized for detecting the respective types of particles and theuser is not forced to choose optimization for detecting one type ofparticle versus the other. Instead both detectors can be optimized todetect their respective types of particles simultaneously.

[0104] The meaning of “large” and “small” anomalies discussed above maybe phrased in more general terms. In general, an anomaly is small if itsdimensions are a fraction of the wavelength of the electromagnetic(laser) radiation used to illuminate the surface inspected. Thus, theplot of FIG. 8 shows the scattering from PSL spheres that are “large”and “small” with respect to visible light wavelengths. If radiation ofother wavelengths are used, then the meaning of “large” and “small”anomalies will change according to such wavelengths.

[0105] If a single detector or detector arrangement is chosen to detectthe light scattering from both large and small particles, a largerdark-field stop must be employed to prevent near angle (near specular)surface scatter from surface 1012 from reaching the detector. This wouldbe necessary in order to maintain the sensitivity of the detector to lowintensity scattering from smaller particles. A larger aperture stopwould therefore decrease the sensitivity of the system towards lightscattering by large particles and also to surface scatteringcharacteristics at near specular angles of collection. This isundesirable. System 1010 of FIG. 7 avoids such undesirable compromise.Since separate detectors 1042, 1044 are now employed, the design of bothlight collection and detection subsystems need not be constrained sothat the range of collection angles for lenses 1032 may be increased toinclude the near specular collection angles as well. While preferablylenses 1032 collect light that are scattered in a range of 5-20°, suchrange may be extended to, for example, 3-25°. The larger ranges ofcollection angles would be useful for particle and defectcharacterization/classification or surface topography, in someapplications.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 8, light scattering caused by haze falls offrapidly with increasing collection angles, so that there is negligiblelight scattering caused by haze that is collected by mirror 1038 anddirected towards detector 1044. This further enhances the sensitivityand accuracy of system 1010 for detecting smaller anomalies. In thepreferred embodiment, mirror 1038 collects and focuses scattered lightin the range of 25-70° from the axis of system 1010 towards aperture1040 and detector 1044. As indicated above, detectors 1042, 1044 may beoptimized separately to have different intensity detection thresholds.

[0107] From the above description, it is seen that beam deflector 1024serves a dual function: to deflect the illuminating beam so as toprovide beam 1014″ and also acting as a stop to shield detectors 1042,1044 from specular and near specular (or semi-specular) diffusereflection. It should also be noted that the illumination portion andthe detection device portions of system 1010 are designed so that theillumination beam, in its entire path from the laser source untilsurface 1012, does not pass through any lens or lens arrangement of thedetection system. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 7, this isimplemented by placing the beam deflector 1024 between lenses 1032 andsurface 1012. An input aperture 1038 a in mirror 1038 permits theilluminating laser beam to be passed from beam turning component 1022 tobeam deflector 1024 so as to enable beam deflector 1024 to be placedbetween lenses 1032 and surface 1012. Mirror 1038 is preferablyellipsoidal in shape and also preferably substantially rotationallysymmetrical about axis SR of system 1010, so that the same detectionresult can be obtained repeatedly irrespective of the relativeorientation of surface 1012 and of any defects thereon with respect tothe illumination and the detection device portions of system 1010. Thusthe light detected by detectors 1042, 1044 within the two ranges ofcollection angles is substantially rotationally symmetrical about theaxis of system 1010 upon such light scattering by surface 1012.

[0108]FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a surface inspection system 1100 toillustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention. The system 1100is similar to system 1010 of FIG. 6 except that the bottom portion ofmirror 1038′ has a different curvature than the remaining portion, sothat where the remaining portion focuses the light scattered by surface1012 towards aperture 1040 and detector 1044, portion 1038 b has adifferent curvature so that portion 1038 b together with a beam turningcomponent 1102 focus light scattered by surface 1012 towards an aperture1104 and detector 1106 for detection. Preferably, portion 1038 b isparaboloid in shape and it collimates the light scattered from surface1012, where the collimated light is focused by a curved mirror 1102towards aperture 1104 and detector 1106. Alternatively, portion 1038 bmay have a focal point and focuses the scattered light impinging on ittowards beam turning component 1102 that reflects such light towards anaperture 1104 and detector 1106 for detection. Portion 1038 b andcomponent 1102 preferably collect and focus light in the range of about65 to 85 degrees from axis SR towards aperture 1104 and detector 1106.The remaining portion of mirror 1038′ collects and focuses light in therange of about 25 to 60 degrees from axis SR towards aperture 1040′ anddetector 1044. The lenses 1032′ collects and focuses light in the rangeof about 5 to 20 degrees (or even 3 to 25 degrees) from axis SR towardsaperture 1036′ and detector 1042. The use of three sets of lightcollection optics and detectors to separately detect the scattered lightin smaller ranges of angles from axis SR may be advantageous for someapplications. Obviously, mirror 1038′ may have more than two portionshaving different curvatures, in order to separately detect the scatteredlight in more than three smaller ranges of angles from axis SR. Such andother variations are within the scope of the invention.

[0109] Rotational and translational movement of surface 1012 is causedin a conventional manner so that beam 1014″ scans the surface along aspiral path. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, the semiconductor wafer 1011having surface 1012 thereon may be supported by a supporting disk 1072which is connected to a shaft 1112 having axis 1074 of a rotary motor1114 which is in turn fixed to a linear translation stage 1116, drivenby a translation motor 1118. The rotary and translation motors arecontrolled in a coordinated manner as known to those skilled in the artto cause simultaneous rotational and translational movement of surface1012 so that beam 1014″ would trace a spiral path on surface 1012.Surface 1012 of FIG. 7 may be caused to travel in the same manner sothat beam 1014″ scans surface 1012 along a spiral path.

[0110] In operation, a light beam such as beam 1014′′ is directedtowards surface 1012 in a specified direction or angle of incidence,causing specular reflection along a direction defining an axis.Rotational and translational movement of the surface is caused so thatthe beam scans the surface along a spiral path. Light scattered by thesurface within the first range of collection angles from the axis isdetected by means of a first detector. Light scattered by the surfacewithin the second range of collection angles from the axis is detectedby means of a second detector, where the two ranges of collection anglesare different. Preferably, the two ranges of collection angles aresubstantially stationary. Preferably, the axis is substantially normalto the surface.

[0111] While the invention has been described above by reference to thepreferred embodiment, it will be understood that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention which is to be defined only by the appended claims. Forexample, while only one detector has been shown for each of the twodetectors 1042, 1044, it will be understood that an array of detectorsmay be used for each of the two detector locations 1042, 1044.Additional apertures or aperture stops may be employed in the detectionand illumination portions of system 1010 than as shown in FIG. 7. Theillumination beam and the collector light may also be passed throughmore or fewer lenses or mirrors of different optical arrangements thanas shown in FIG. 7. All such variations are within the scope of theinvention. The system described is also advantageous for differentiatingbetween scratches, slip lines, COPs and other topographic features,since one type of such defects may scatter light at a larger angle tothe axis compared to another type of such defects.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical system for detecting contaminants anddefects on a test surface comprising: a source of light to produce abeam; means for directing the beam along a path onto the test surface,producing an illuminated spot thereon; an ellipsoidal mirrored surfacehaving an axis of symmetry substantially coaxial with the path, definingan input aperture positioned proximate to the test surface to receivescattered light therethrough from the surface, the mirrored surfacereflecting and focusing light that is rotationally symmetric about saidaxis of symmetry and that passes through the input aperture at an area;and means for detecting light focused to the area.
 2. The optical systemof claim 1, said mirrored surface having an exit aperture opposite tothe input aperture, said system further comprising a lens assemblydisposed between the input aperture and the exit aperture to collectlight passing through the input aperture, defining collected light, saidlens assembly focusing the collected light substantially at the area,wherein the lens assembly includes a first and a second lens positionedbetween the input and exit apertures.
 3. The optical system of claim 1,wherein the beam is incident on the test surface at an anglesubstantially normal thereto.
 4. The optical system of claim 3, furtherincluding at least one lens positioned in the path of the beam to varythe size of the spot.
 5. The optical system of claim 1, said ellipsoidalmirrored surface having two foci, wherein the mirrored surface is placedwith said illuminated spot substantially at one of the two foci.
 6. Theoptical system of claim 1, said ellipsoidal mirrored surface having twofoci, wherein the mirrored surface is placed with one of the two focisubstantially at said area.
 7. The optical system of claim 1, saiddetecting means including a detector and an aperture placedsubstantially at the area.
 8. The optical system of claim 1, saidilluminated spot being less than 50 microns in dimensions.
 9. Theoptical system of claim 1, further including means, positioned in thepath of specularly reflected light, for blocking specularly reflectedlight from the test surface and stray light generated by the opticalsystem from impinging on the detecting means.
 10. The optical system ofclaim 1, wherein the detector means includes an array of detectingelements.
 11. The optical system of claim 1, further including means forselecting passing scattered light having a predetermined range ofscattering angles.
 12. The optical system of claim 1, further includingan attenuator attenuating the light focused to said area before it isdetected by the detecting means.
 13. The optical system of claim 1,further including a means for placing the beam in a circular state ofpolarization.
 14. The optical system of claim 1, further including afield stop that restricts light focused to the area in a image plane ina confocal manner, thereby attenuating detection of unwanted straylight.
 15. An apparatus for detecting anomalies of surfaces, comprising:means for directing a light beam towards a surface in a directionsubstantially normal to the surface, said direction defining an axis;means for causing relative motion between the surface and the beam, sothat the beam scans the surface; and means for detecting light scatteredby said surface around the axis; said detecting means including at leasttwo detectors, said at least two detectors comprising a first detectorlocated to detect light scattered by the surface within a first range ofcollection angles from the axis and a second detector located to detectlight scattered by the surface within a second range of collectionangles from the axis, said second range being different from the firstrange, wherein said detecting means including at least one lens forcollecting light to be detected, said directing means directing lighttowards the surface along an illumination path that does not passthrough said at least one lens.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, saiddetecting means including a first aperture for the first detector and asecond aperture for the second detector, said first and second apertureshaving different aperture sizes.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, saiddirecting means including at least one beam expander for shaping andfocusing the light beam and at least one illumination aperture.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 14, said first range of angles being about 3 to 25degrees, and said second range being about 25 to 70 degrees.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 15, said detecting means including at least threedetectors located to detect light scattered by the surface within atleast a first, second and third range of collection angles from theaxis, said first range of angles being about 3 to 25 degrees, and saidsecond range being about 25 to 65 degrees, and said third range beingabout 65 to 85 degrees.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, said directingmeans including a beam deflector for deflecting light from a lightsource towards the surface, said deflector also shielding the first andsecond detectors from specular and semi-specular reflection.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, said detecting means including at least one lensfor collecting light to be detected, said deflector being locatedbetween the surface and the at least one lens.
 22. The apparatus ofclaim 15, said two detectors having different intensity detectionthresholds.
 23. The apparatus of claim 15, said second detectorincluding a collection mirror and a photo-sensitive device, said mirrorbeing substantially ellipsoidal in shape.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23,said directing means directing the light beam towards a spot on thesurface, said mirror having two foci, wherein the mirror is placed withsaid spot substantially at one of the two foci.
 25. The apparatus ofclaim 24, said detecting means including a first aperture for the firstdetector and a second aperture for the second detector, said firstaperture being placed substantially at the remaining foci.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 24, said directing means directing the light beamtowards a spot on the surface, said spot being less than 50 microns indimensions.
 27. The apparatus of claim 15, said directing meansdirecting the light beam towards a spot on the surface, said spot beingless than 50 microns in dimensions.
 28. The apparatus of claim 15, oneof the two detectors including a mirror having an entrance port therein,said illumination path passing through said entrance port.
 29. Anapparatus for detecting anomalies of surfaces, comprising: means forfocusing a light beam along a path towards a spot on a surface, causinga specular reflection, said spot having dimensions less than 50 microns;means for causing rotational and translational movement of the surface,so that the beam scans the surface along a spiral path; a first detectorlocated to detect light scattered by the surface within a first range ofcollection angles and a second detector located to detect lightscattered by the surface within a second range of collection angles,said second range being different from the first range; an ellipsoidalmirrored surface defining an input aperture positioned proximate to thesurface to receive scattered light therethrough from the surface, themirrored surface reflecting and focusing light passing through the inputaperture at the first detector; and a lens assembly to collect lightpassing through the input aperture, defining collected light, said lensassembly focusing the collected light substantially to the seconddetector.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29, said focusing means focusinglight towards the surface along an illumination path that does not passthrough said lens assembly.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, saidellipsoidal mirrored surface having a hole therein, said illuminationpath passing through said hole.
 32. The apparatus of claim 29, saiddirecting means including a beam deflector in the illumination path fordeflecting light from a light source towards the surface, said deflectoralso shielding the first and second detectors from specular andsemi-specular reflection.
 33. The apparatus of claim 32, said deflectorbeing located between the surface and the lens assembly.
 34. Theapparatus of claim 32, the deflector blocking specular and semi-specularreflection so that said first range of angles is about 3 to 25 degrees,said second range being about 25 to 70 degrees.
 35. The apparatus ofclaim 29, said detecting means including at least three detectorslocated to detect light scattered by the surface within at least afirst, second and third range of collection angles from the axis, saidfirst range of angles being about 3 to 25 degrees, and said second rangebeing about 25 to 65 degrees, and said third range being about 65 to 85degrees.